It’s been three years since LIV Golf became a part of the golf world. Many fans and golfers have warmed up to the new league but not Ernie Els. In 2022, during an interview with Alan Bastable of Golf.com, the 4-time major champion called the PIF-backed circuit “silly season golf” because of its different format, which included 54-hole events, shotgun starts with a limited field and no cut.

Two years later, Els still believes the PIF-funded league is not the future of golf. In an exclusive interview with Alabama-based Yellowhammernews.com, the 54-year-old reiterated his previous stance on Greg Norman’s league and stated how he wouldn’t have been a part of it if it existed during his time as a pro golfer. Els said, “I know some of the Saudi guys; they genuinely love the game of golf. But the LIV current format is not proper golf. It wouldn’t have been for me, whatever stage of my career I was at.” 

The veteran golfer disapproves of the format and setup of LIV Golf. However, when it comes to the PIF-PGA Tour merger, the South African national has a rather positive take. He believes the $3 billion deal will contribute to the betterment of the sport. Sharing his point of view on the divisiveness in golf, Els expressed, “Obviously I hope they can work out their differences because this mess is not good for our sport.” He then reiterated his thoughts about LIV’s format by saying, “To my mind, the LIV golf format doesn’t work, not in the way they’re playing at the moment.”

Els could see the team aspect of the LIV Golf events fit in the ecosystem of golf and suggested that it should have a “two-month happy season” with a global schedule. However, on other days, the veteran pro exclaimed, “The rest of the year, let’s play real golf.” Els claiming that LIV might not be real golf was the highlight of his statements and after they were out, the LIV Golf fans heavily criticized the 4-time major winner for his opinions on the rebel league.

The golf world is not in favor of Ernie Els’s LIV statements 

Was Ernie Els upset about never getting the opportunity to play in the breakaway league? The Big Easy’s last official event on the PGA Tour was back in 2023. Now he plays on the PGA Tour Champions and rarely plays in major championships. This fan speculated that Els’s opinions on LIV Golf stem from a place of regret that he couldn’t leverage the hefty deal because LIV didn’t exist during his career. commented, “Ernie is probably sour that LIV came around just too late for him to take advantage of it in the twilight of his career and cash in and he’s ignoring the fact that LIV never intended replace the traditional format of golf.”

To disregard Els’s stance on the breakaway circuit, this fan shared that they asked their grandfather how Els was as a player and what he thought about LIV Golf. Although Big Easy has won 96 times in his career and around the world, the fan’s grandfather wasn’t his fan but loved LIV’s innovative concept. The user took a dig at Els said, “What’s a comparable… I KNOW Wait let me ask my grandpa what he thinks- JUST IN my grandpa thinks Els was mid. Also said LIV clears and is [fire emoji]. He’s been playing and watching pro golf for 50 yrs.” 

A netizen called out Els, criticizing LIV Golf’s format and not calling it real golf when he himself plays on the PGA Tour Champions, where the events usually follow the 54-hole format. Additionally, they highlighted how the presence of different formats in a sport is not uncommon. They took the example of tennis where usually the matches are played in the three sets format. But for the men’s Tennis Grand Slams, a five sets format is observed whereas for women it’s three. The fan baffled by Els’s statement said, “Says the guy playing no cut 54 hole events on the champions tour. Other sports have multiple formats. Do tennis players say best of 3 sets isn’t proper tennis??” 

Els had been a pro golfer for the past three decades. He is a Hall of Fame member, the 7th all-time 28-time winner on the European Tour, and a 19-time winner on the PGA Tour. With four major championships on his list of silverware, Els’s achievements are insurmountable and this fan was respecting that aspect of Big Easy’s career. But when it came to his opinion on LIV Golf, they disagreed with the veteran because the rebel league still played 18 holes in three days. They frustratedly exclaimed, “Respect for his on course accomplishments, but this opinion is trash. The golf is the same. Same rules, 18 holes per day, stroke play, etc, etc. The only difference is the team aspect and they all tee off at same time. If he wants “real” golf lets play nothing but match play.”

Another user explained that he was not solving the current issue in the golf world but becoming a part of it with his stance. Moreover, they also counter his definition of the PGA Tour being ‘real golf’ by saying that it wasn’t. The user said, “He is part of the problem I need a definition of real gold [golf] cause the @pgatour is not it.”

Being a pro-golfer for 35 years does bring a lot of knowledge and experience, but was Ernie Els’s opinion out of tune? What do you think? Tell us in the comments.